Do you believe what you read?

[Glenn Dandy]

Ive noticed from a few threads .... arguments over issues, mostly news articles.

When you read a news story. Watch one on television. How prone are you to believe the written word.

Seems to me theres either of two types of people. Ones who just think it,s all zionistic,governmental,product pitched, big business spin drivel.

And those who whole heartedly believe the news.

We all know every story has two sides.... which side is the writer on?

Is there a large company that could have a sales drop if certain information is leaked?

Is the head of the papers view a mandate?

How much of the writers personal opinion is put forth?

How many actual facts are left out to sway public opinion?


I guess what I,m asking is this.... Is there any way possible to get to the real truth's of the world.

Unbiased reporting.


And If so where?



I personally think we are left with our own intellect to sort through the bullshit and form opinions based on life experiences.
But! I am interested in any input.

Because in lets say world politics.... I,ve never ran a country... not much to go on really besides educated guessing.

[Jef Leppard]

ya must be outta beer

[Glenn Dandy]

havnt drank in awhile...


MUST KILL BRAIN.

http://z.about.com/d/animatedtv/1/0/4/E/simp16pres.jpg

[BravoSierra]

I just read The Onion. Same as the newspaper filled with bullshit, but at least I laugh. And Fark! Fark kicks ass.

[WhiteHonkyDevil]

Unfortunately, there's not as much creativity as you'd think. Most reporters just copy AP and Reuters feeds, maybe change a word or two, and then...report.

[TheDrip]

Depends on the topic. If it's not a 'big story', I tend to read one or two stories from different outlets if I'm interested enough, just to see if there's info that might not have been picked up by one writer.

If it's a huge story though, say involving the US government, war, etc., then I'll read a few US press takes on the issue as well as some foreign press takes (always interesting to see the story from non-US eyes). Besides, that way you can see if some facts are being conveniently left out either here or abroad.

However, short of doing your own reporting there's really no way of knowing if you're getting a balanced assessment of any one story, so you do have to have a sort of 'leap of faith' with the media, regardless of the source or sources you're getting your coverage from. That being said, though...I think that no matter what the topic, if it's something you truly are concerned with, you'd be foolish to rely on only your local paper, or only CNN, etc. for your news.

Writers, no matter how good they are, can always be figured to let a little bit of their opinion into a story. It's part of being human. Even if it's only so much as the choice of adjectives they use to describe events in the story.

[THE FEZ MAN]

"zionistic,governmental,product pitched, big business spin drivel. "

i still cant blelive that you used the word Zionistic

[mendozathejew]

Im sure theres some fake news, fake info leaked by sources etc

but with the big stories, especially politics and foriegn affairs, the best reporters in this country are savages, and not even the papers on the vice presidents desks are beyond their reach. thats one of my many problems with the conspiracy theories from the last 6 years. the idea that the reporters at newsweek like evan thomas and michael isikoff miss all this revealing info is laughable.

[Butter Nuggets]

If it can be spun, I assume it will be. The spinning will generally be in the direction the reporters themselves or their bosses in the news department feel. Which is almost always to the left, here and overseas.

Televised news is worse on top of that because even before slanted news they have to play the most outrageous or shocking video available regardless of context or cause.

Just go to some partisan (in either direction) website that allows comments and you will get all sides of a story and then some.

[wes mantooth]

I read several different news sites about the stories I'm interested in. The more articles on a story you read the easier it is to figure out which reporters are spinning and how much. If I notice the same reporter establishing a pattern of this behaviour I consider him a fucko for life and I never read his drivel again. My current Tool of the Year is Seth Borenstein. His stories are are usually with AP.

[Your_Moms_Box]

I go by the motto "If it's on the internet or FOX News then it has to be true"


I used to subscribe to teh week http://www.theweekdaily.com/

it seemed to take an issue, tell you what both sides were saying, and refrain from editorializing.

I haven't read it in a year or so though, so it could have changed

[Kris_LTRMa]

I go by the motto "If it's on the internet or FOX News then it has to be true"


I used to subscribe to teh week http://www.theweekdaily.com/

it seemed to take an issue, tell you what both sides were saying, and refrain from editorializing.

I haven't read it in a year or so though, so it could have changed

I just renewed my subscription to The Week for the second time. I read it for the exact same reason you do - they take an issue, find both sides of the story and report it without putting their "spin" on it.

As for FOX News .... if you follow the right wing train of thought then yeah it'll be true if it's on FOX. But if you ascribe to the left wing credo, you'll more than likely find the "truth" on CNN. MSNBC can't seem to make up its mind which way it wants to go (that's why you used to have Joe Scarborough following Keith Olberman at night. Joe's lost his edge since moving to mornings)

[Your_Moms_Box]

lol, the fox thing was a joke.

I tend to lean on the liberal side of issues, but it isn't the end all be all of my opinions.

fox just annoys me though.

[Vyce]

Just about everything in the mainstream media (print - both newspapers and magazines, radio and television news) these days is crap. It's just varying shades of propaganda and / or editorial opinion disguised as news.

Best place for news these days? Blogs. And to be honest, 95% of those are partisan towards one ideology or the other, but blogs have become extraordinarily useful nowadays for fact-checking the mainstream media (which, when it itself isn't being extraordinarily partisan, is usually just hideously sloppy with its reporting). If a story comes out in the mainstream media, and it's not on the level, you can be damn sure that the various blogs will pick it to pieces and expose it.

[BigDickGuzinya]

Drudge.But,it's so easy to research stuff yourself on the net,you gotta check stuff out if your bullshit detector starts beeping.

[kidconnor]

SPUN DRIVEL.... ALL OF IT.

Beyond the WHAT and WHO of the story your really not gonna get much thats reliable.

Ever been present at something story worthy and then heard it told by someone else who was there and thought how much the story DIDN"T sound like what happened? People lie to make themselves look good or push their own agenda, and they definitely put their own opinion in.

[Xyn]

I view news as entertainment. Some interesting topics and stories, it sometimes helps keep me in touch with what's going on in the world.

So the news is little better to me than, well, Opie and Anthony. Or the wackbag current events forum.

If I'm interested in a topic, or if it's important enough, I'll look deeper into it. other than that, the news bullshit is fine.

I do wish that either the news would get better (unlikely), or that it would lose this undeserved credability it has.

[HummerTuesdays]

It depends. I take everything with a grain of salt. I try to see both sides.

[WhiskeyWhispers]

I personally think we are left with our own intellect to sort through the bullshit and form opinions based on life experiences.


That's what it boils down to . Listen to all sides, factor in your experiences, come to your own conclusion.

I try and remain civil and open-minded with most stuff, but that is getting harder and harder to do as it seems only extremists speak there minds nowadays. You start talking crazy, I don't give a shit if your left or right, I stop listening.

As for newspapers and magazines, keep in mind most people that write articles also want to write novels, and they get practice spinning yarns everyday. Truly unbiased reporting doesn't exist, at least not anymore.

[sobi]

Ive noticed from a few threads .... arguments over issues, mostly news articles.

When you read a news story. Watch one on television. How prone are you to believe the written word.

Seems to me theres either of two types of people. Ones who just think it,s all zionistic,governmental,product pitched, big business spin drivel.

And those who whole heartedly believe the news.

We all know every story has two sides.... which side is the writer on?

Is there a large company that could have a sales drop if certain information is leaked?

Is the head of the papers view a mandate?

How much of the writers personal opinion is put forth?

How many actual facts are left out to sway public opinion?


I guess what I,m asking is this.... Is there any way possible to get to the real truth's of the world.

Unbiased reporting.


And If so where?



I personally think we are left with our own intellect to sort through the bullshit and form opinions based on life experiences.
But! I am interested in any input.

Because in lets say world politics.... I,ve never ran a country... not much to go on really besides educated guessing.


excellent topic. I didn't see yours and started a very similar one...


On another board I frequent, it seems to be jam packed of nitwits whom are quick to counter anything mainstream news related with an onslaught of obscure news links which are sure to never be used again for other media references they may bring to the forums. This is becoming really trite. I definitely have a hard time buying the "stories" fox tends to throw at you. I find them to be a tad slanted at times. It just gets me aggrivated that every time I don't agree with someone who wants to believe everything some random joe puts on his blog, I (and pretty much everyone else who disagrees) "must be one of those people that belives everything fox news tells you". As I said before, I basically see fox news as a socially exceptable tabloid.

Pretty much, I'm just curious at to what other media outlets and news agencies you guys trust to get your news from.

[pure_waves]

I read several different news sites about the stories I'm interested in. The more articles on a story you read the easier it is to figure out which reporters are spinning and how much. If I notice the same reporter establishing a pattern of this behaviour I consider him a fucko for life and I never read his drivel again. My current Tool of the Year is Seth Borenstein. His stories are are usually with AP.

x2

i do the same

sites i visit most often though, drudge, cnn, bbcnews, and some local papers.